


Citizens Of America

by Madcinder



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Americans, Barista Homura, Being Homura Is Suffering, Characters Playing Pokemon GO, Christian Kyouko, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Homura has a motorcycle, Madoka gets ponies, Metalhead Hitomi, Oriko is kind of there, Parody, School, Slice of Life, also Sayaka may or may not have a little bit of Irish ancestry, they have jobs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-02 19:24:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10225355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madcinder/pseuds/Madcinder
Summary: Five years have passed. Madoka and her friends have long since moved out of Japan and are now all attending an American college together. What classes are they taking? What careers are they after? What do they think of America? What hijinks can they get up to? And most importantly, what will Madoka do with four ponies? Rated M for five years of American influence.





	1. Taming of the Sandshrew

Madoka sat in her seat, trying to fall asleep. Homura sat beside her, staring out the window as the clouds flew by. Kyoko was just across the aisle, making good use of the in-flight meals. Sayaka was in the seat behind Madoka, using a small mirror to fix her hair up. Everyone was calm and happy. The four of them were on a flight to take them to their new home, where Hitomi and Mami, who had left a year earlier, waited for them. A year and a half had made a lot of change between the six of them. Madoka couldn't wait to see Hitomi and Mami again, and see the look on their faces.

She'd grown. Madoka had gotten taller since they'd last met, leaving Homura behind as the short one. Kyoko and Sayaka hadn't grown as much, but they were taller to begin with. She wondered if Mami had gotten taller as well. Their blonde senpai had quite the developed body, but most of her growing had so far gone to other areas. Namely, her chest. Madoka's own figure had developed as well along with her height, and she was quite happy with how it was coming along. In the same area, Kyoko had begun to catch up to Sayaka. The two of them liked to compete with each other in many fields, and this had become one of them somewhere along the line.

Madoka began to wonder if Mami still did her hair up into those twin curls that had gotten so familiar to her. She'd let down her own hair, against Homura's wishes, as she wanted to give a more mature vibe that she felt her previous hairstyle had lacked. Homura's hair was the same as always, as was Kyoko's, but Sayaka's was quite different. Madoka's best friend had finally been letting her hair grow out, and it now fell around her shoulders. She'd learned to keep it in a ponytail in the past few months, a style that looked better on her with each passing day.

Homura's voice snapped Madoka out of her semi-slumber state. "Madoka, look! There it is!"

Madoka leaned over in front of Homura to look out the window. They had to press their cheeks together in order to both look through the small window at the ground now visible far below the plane. In the seat behind them, Sayaka took a moment to look as well. Kyoko didn't seem to mind missing out, though many other passengers were enjoying the view the same as Madoka. It was a new place, and a new start. The new world.

Homura lightly pushed her cheek against Madoka's. "Heh. Looks like Oregon. We've still got a little ways to go."

Kyoko cut in from across the aisle, talking around a mouthful. "We'd better. I'm not done yet."

The four of them were on their way to America, where they would all be going to high school together. A friend of Madoka's parents lived in Texas and had offered to give them all a place to stay. They all had plans to go to a university in Texas after high school as well, which meant that the six of them would be living together for the next six to eight years. Madoka could hardly wait for the plane to land and her life in America to begin...

* * *

**Five Years Past**

"Madoka, wake up already."

Responding to her name, Madoka shook herself awake. She quickly shielded her eyes from the bright sun, prompting her to remember where she had fallen asleep. She was outside, laying on her back on top of a picnic table. The table had been purchased and placed in front of the house she and her friends were staying in, somewhere for them to gather during meals.

"Get up, will ya. No one's gonna eat off of a table with Madoka all over it."

Madoka turned her head to see Homura sitting at the table. The dark-haired girl put her hands together like she was saying a prayer. "Thank you for this meal."

Rolling off to the side, Madoka pushed herself off the table and stood up, taking a moment to feel the grass under her bare feet. She gave Homura a sidelong glance. "Don't eat me."

Kyoko appeared in her field of view. "Thank you. Dinner is ready. Mami and Hitomi are bringing it out."

"What about Sayaka?" Madoka sat down properly, waiting patiently for the food. "Did Sayaka go to sleep early again?"

Kyoko set out five plates that she had carried in a stack from the house, while answering the question. "Yeah, her job is being brutal."

Madoka giggled, watching as Mami and Hitomi came out of the house and set up dinner. Homura had suddenly wrapped herself up in her phone, a habit of hers that Madoka found humorous. "You can't be texting anyone, Homura. We're all right here."

Homura briefly looked up. "No... there is a Sandshrew nearby."

Hitomi put her hands on her hips. "Really? At the dinner table?"

Sitting beside Madoka, Mami nervously brushed her hand against her jeans pocket. "Which direction?"

Hitomi sat down beside Homura, across from Mami. "Don't make me throw your phones away." She watched carefully as Homura put her phone away, then smiled. "Good. Now, Kyoko, if you'd do the honors... Kyoko?"

The four of them spent nearly a minute just looking around for their redheaded friend before Madoka spotted her. "Oh, there she- Hitomi, Kyoko's across the street."

"What? What is she-"

"Oh, shit, she's going for it." Homura stood up. "Permission to go get her?"

Kyoko called over from across the street. "Just a minute! I'll be right back!"

Madoka cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted at Kyoko. "Pokemon is of the devil!"

They all sat and watched as Kyoko turned off her phone, pocketed it, and walked back to the table. "Pokemon is of the devil. As if. That ship has sailed."

"I'm pretty sure the Bible says Pokemon is of the devil." Madoka nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure."

Kyoko sat down at the head of the table, fixing Madoka with a glare. "No, it does not."

Madoka shrugged. "You should check again. Look in the back. It's right there. In blue pen."

From the general direction of the house, the five of them heard Sayaka's familiar voice. "Would you assholes shut the hell up! I've got to work in less than seven damn hours and I can't get a minute of shuteye with all of your fucking shit! Kyoko, fuck your Sandshrew! Madoka, fuck your blue pen! Homura, fuck your face! And Hitomi, fuck your cooking!" She appeared at the door, barely dressed and looking a total mess. "And you left the fucking door open!" She slammed it shut. "Again!"

There was silence at the table, finally broken by Kyoko. "Do I still have to say grace? I think Sayaka covered everything."

Mami raised her hand. "I was left out this time. I feel like that might leave any reigning deity with the misconception that I am not grateful for the meal."

Kyoko folded her hands. "Father God, may you bless Mami to become with child. Amen."

"That's really not what I was thinking." Mami was starting to turn slightly reddish.

The redhead shrugged it off. "It's as far as I'm going. I'm not swearing in a prayer, even for you. Have you ever seen what happens to people who swear while they're praying?"

Homura shook her head. "No, I've never seen anyone swear while they were praying."

"Exactly." Kyoko reached for a bowl of mashed potatoes. "People stopped swearing during prayer shortly after people began to pray. There's a very good reason for that." She dropped one scoop of mashed potatoes on her plate and passed the bowl to Homura. "It has something to do with lightning."

Madoka selected a cut of pork and put it on her plate, then turned to Kyoko. "No, see, I've tested that. Nothing has ever happened to me when I swear while I'm praying."

Kyoko nodded and explained. "Well of course. You don't believe in God, so why should he care what you say to him? It's like getting mail from someone who doesn't like you. You just ignore it, you don't open it. You throw it in the trash. That and I've heard you praying. You mumble. No one, not even God, has time for that. Who can tell what you're asking for?"

"I've asked God for a pony four times now. If he was listening to me, I'd have that damn pony."

Hitomi sighed. "Madoka, I love you like a sister, but I have to ask if you actually want that pony. In my experience, even if you don't believe in God, you shouldn't ask him for something you're not ready to receive."

Madoka passed the mashed potatoes right by her, placing them at the corner of the table beside Kyoko. "I'm not getting that pony. It's not happening. Like you just said, God isn't even listening to me cause he knows I don't think he exists. So either I'm right and he doesn't, or you're right and he's ignoring me, either way, no frigging pony."

* * *

**The next day**

Madoka stood at the counter of her job. It wasn't the cleanest job in the world, and strictly speaking not everything that went on was entirely within the normal bounds of legality, so she had seen some things and met some people even in the two months since getting the position. She now stood dumbfounded at the loan payment she was faced with. The old man in front of her was wearing a red plaid shirt and blue overalls, a straw hat and cowboy boots. The definition of country.

"Well, I don't really have the money I promised, see. I was thinking I could leave something with an equivalent value with you and then have it back when I do have the money."

Madoka blinked her eyes a few times, making sure she was seeing correctly. "A-and this... this is what you came up with?"

"Yes mam. I figure these four ponies cover the payment?"

They did, and the company policy allowed such an exchange, though as the company had no place to keep the ponies she would likely have to take care of them herself.

Madoka hung her head. She was never going to hear the end of this. "Fuck me."


	2. Lungfish Sandwich

_"WAKE UP! WAKE THE * **QUACK** * UP!"_

Sayaka bolted up out of bed, already shouting garbled bloody murder. "KOKYO, GETHE FAHK ATTA MUH ROM!"

Kyoko backed up, pocketing her cellphone so it was out of the line of fire. She held up her hands to defend herself. "It's a shared room. Madoka invited me in."

Now standing, her voice and vision cleared up. Sayaka was now able to target the intruder more accurately and deliver her threats far more intelligibly. "Aah, she did, huh? Then I'll sacrifice you both to Anubis!"

Kyoko dropped her hands to her sides. "Anubis? Come on. At least sacrifice us to something more obscure."

"Kerry King, then! I don't give a fuck! Get the hell out and let me sleep!"

Continuing to back away towards the door, Kyoko waved casually. "Alright, I'm gone. Outta your hair. Won't see me again today. I just thought you might want to be awake, but I see that you don't. Also, try to keep your voice down, seeing how it's now..." She checked her watch. "...three in the morning."

"You woke me up at three in the fucking morning?! Three in the fu-" Sayaka stopped, then shot a look at the clock on her bedside table. "Three in the morning? Shit! Shit, it's three in the morning! I gotta get ready for work!"

"Yes, you do. You also need to be a little quieter. People _are_ trying to sleep. I mean, not in this building, but probably next door, unless all your unwarranted screaming of obscenities has them trying to get a hold of the police, in which case you really want to get out the door." Kyoko just shrugged idly as Sayaka rushed past her. She turned and followed her friend into the washroom. "The car isn't really working too well, so I wouldn't count on it, but that's okay. We've got other methods of transportation open to us."

Sayaka pulled her tanktop off and started running the shower. She shot a glare at Kyoko. "I am not riding bitch on Homura's kill-me-quick."

"I'm talking about the four fully-saddled equines Madoka has out back."

Sayaka pulled the shower curtain across in between them, then tossed her now-soaked shorts over the top. "Horses? How did she get horses?"

Kyoko removed the shorts from her face, tossing them into the sink. "Ponies, actually. And I'd say she probably got them because she prayed for them and didn't take it seriously."

The shower curtain was pulled back just enough for Sayaka's sour expression to become visible. "You've got to be kidding me. You're saying God gave us ponies?"

"Hey, you said it, not me. She prayed for ponies- well, actually, she prayed for just one pony, but she did it four times, and now we have four ponies. Coincidence? I say no, Hitomi says no, Homura says yes, Mami says it's truly perplexing, and Madoka won't talk about it."

Sayaka disappeared back behind the curtain. "Forget it. I'm not riding a pony to work. I can't ride a horse, and I don't think adults are supposed to ride ponies."

"I don't know, maybe they're Shetlands. Those are supposed to be real big, aren't they?"

"I think you're thinking of Clydesdales, which are horses, by the way." Kyoko went silent. Sayaka was fine with this for the most part, as it allowed her to focus on having a quick shower, and she really did have to hurry for work, but Kyoko going silent was seldom a good sign. Eventually she caved in. "You still there?"

"I have removed all the towels from the room. Now I'm going to go take a walk. Seeya!"

Sayaka had no answer to give.

Kyoko had her jacket on and was stepping out the front door within the minute. She hadn't really removed the towels from the washroom. That would have been cruel, and she never took a joke beyond teasing. On the front deck of the house, she paused to breathe in the fresh Summer night air. There was an odd, slightly burnt smell in the air that she wasn't familiar with. She looked around and spotted Madoka at the corner of the deck.

"Hey, angry cheese. What's burning?"

Madoka turned her attention to Kyoko. "Angry... cheese? What?"

"Oka. It's a kind of cheese."

Madoka nodded, picking up on the wordplay. "Oh, I get it. Don't do that again."

"Alright, sure." Kyoko walked over and tried to get a look at whatever Madoka was doing. "You setting things on fire?"

Madoka shifted her position so she was blocking Kyoko's view. "Just some... plants... of varying degrees of legality."

Kyoko stopped. "Uh... are you talking about..." She lowered her voice. "Are you referring to illicit herbal medications?"

"Ah... I found them. Under the deck. I think it's a stash or maybe a drop point, so I've moved them and I've been destroying them in small quantities over the past week and a half." She rubbed her eyes, and Kyoko noticed that her eyes were reddish. "But I guess not small enough."

"Why haven't you, like, called the police or something?"

"What, are you crazy?" Madoka started whispering furiously. "The police have forensic scientists and shit. There's any fingerprints on there, they'll find 'em and then it's game over for whoever put them there."

"That's the idea, Madoka."

"You don't get it, do you." She pointed frantically at the house. "Think about the possibilities, okay. We don't know that they belong to some punk or something. What if it's, like, Sayaka's? Or Homura's?"

The conversation was interrupted by Sayaka, who shoved her way through the door as she was pulling her jacket on. When she spotted them, she nodded to them. "What's up. Madoka, you don't look too good."

"I got smoke in my eyes."

Kyoko beckoned Sayaka over to join them. "Come here. Do you know anything about this?"

Sighing, Sayaka took a look at the burnt pile of plant matter. "Um... where did you find it?"

Kyoko patted Madoka's arm. "She found it under the deck. We're _hoping_ it's some idiot we don't know who put it there, and not one of us."

Sayaka grimaced. "Ugh, shit. Was it in three paper bags of considerable size?" Madoka nodded. Sayaka pulled a cigarette out of her jacket pocket and poked it into her mouth. "You are a real fuckin' idiot sometimes. The smoke from that shit isn't good for you. Mami bought that stuff at a department store. She's gonna use it to smoke out hornets in the shed out back. Please tell me you haven't ruined too much of it."

Madoka slumped against the wall and stuck her tongue out. "To be honest, haven't even made an inroad."

"Good. We can't get at the lawnmower with those hornets in the way. Trust me, that stuff might be illegal in some places, but they have enough common sense here not to outlaw something that grows here naturally. You know what is illegal in Texas, though?" Madoka and Kyoko shook their heads. They could both think of a few examples, but they didn't know which one Sayaka might be thinking of. As it turned out, they'd both thought of the correct answer. "The things I'm gonna do to you if you keep delaying me. Kyoko, you need to drive me to work."

As Sayaka didn't waste any more time in heading for the car, Kyoko had to follow her and point out the obvious. "Why do I gotta drive? You have a licence."

Opening the passenger door and tossing the keys to Kyoko, Sayaka explained what Kyoko seemed to have missed. "It's Sunday morning. You and Hitomi take the bus to church, and Mami has weekends off, but Madoka needs to get to work somehow. If I take the car, she can't get to work."

"Well, okay then. But no smoking in the car, especially when I'm driving."

Sayaka grinned. "I ain't even got a lighter. I swiped these off my Economics teacher's desk at the beginning of class on Friday so he wouldn't smoke in the classroom. It pisses a lot of people off, so I'm doing everyone a favor."

"Gee, Sayaka, that's very decent of you."

"I know, right? I'm a fuckin' campus hero!"

"Exhilarating. Now get in the car or you'll be late."

They both got in, and Kyoko started up the engine. Sayaka tossed the rest of the pack of cigarettes onto the dashboard. It was an older car that Mami had scored two years back, a noisy beige creation with an overabundance of right angles and four seats. An argument could be made for the middle seat in the back, but it was practically considered a punishment to be seated there. Homura's motorcycle saw to it that they never needed more than five seats.

As they pulled out of the short driveway, Sayaka tapped the clock display. "I gotta be into work in five minutes to start setting up. I'm gonna be employee of the month, I just know it. I can smell it."

Kyoko shrugged, and promptly had to swerve to keep from going off the road. She quietly reminded herself not to shrug and drive, then glanced over at Sayaka. "So... how's things going at work? You still dealing with that weirdo...?"

"The girl out front with the sign? Yeah, she's still there, but she doesn't do anything. She thinks she's a protester, but I don't know what for. The sign doesn't say anything that has anything to do with anything." The blunette looked in the rear view mirror and frowned. "Oi, I forgot to put my hair up. Why didn't you tell me."

While Sayaka busied herself with putting her fairly long hair into a ponytail, Kyoko was starting to slip focus. She remembered the strange events surrounding the first time she had met Sayaka, as well as Homura and Madoka. They'd certainly come a long way, literally, but she had been getting this strange feeling lately. Like she'd forgotten something from a long time ago. Something important, like a promise she'd made. As they pulled into the parking lot in front of Sayaka's workplace, Kyoko dismissed her odd thoughts.

It wasn't like it would become relevant remarkably soon.


	3. Dabajabaza

A Ducati Scrambler is not a particularly cheap motorcycle.

Homura had managed to find one that was technically used, but only in that the first owner had driven it home, so there was a considerable cut in the price. Even so, she didn't take any chances and made sure it was hidden away behind the restaurant while she was working. Her helmet was just inside the back door, and she had made sure all of her coworkers knew that messing with her stuff would land them in a sort of living hell only Homura could produce. As such, she was able to do her job without even the slightest concern.

She had never really considered the place as a restaurant, in spite of the insistence of some of her coworkers. Even her boss insisted so. It was more of a cafe to Homura. People came in, ordered their bagel or donut, and some coffee, and then went and sat down or left with their order. She'd gotten used to working at the counter, working on weekends. She had no problem with it. Best of all, her favorite customer came in every Sunday morning like clockwork. Plus three friends, but she didn't mind.

Today was somewhat unusual, in that only two friends came in. They waited in line patiently as Homura served the people ahead of them. When they finally arrived at the front of the line, the cute pinkette at the front of the group gave Homura a friendly smile.

"Hello Homura. I'll have my usual. How are you today?"

Placing the order, Homura smiled back at Madoka. "I'm just fine. Where is Kyoko?"

Madoka shrugged. "Asleep in the car. We're gonna get her coffee for her, and she'll be good till lunch."

Mami flashed a peace sign. "So that'll be one medium coffee, three cream, three sugar. And I'll have a breakfast bagel and a small milk."

Hitomi stepped around Mami. "And I'll have the donut of the day and a small coffee, two cream, one sugar."

Homura punched in the orders and retrieved the food, passing it over the counter once Madoka had paid. "Have a good day at work, all of you." She smiled just the way she had practiced, and the only reason she didn't feel like her soul was dying a little each time was because she was smiling at Madoka.

Madoka opened up her paper bag and was met with the warm smell of her breakfast. "Cheese croissant... made by Homura-chan."

The three of them made their way back out to the parking lot, finding their car with Kyoko still passed out in the back. Hitomi was the designated driver, as Mami had a tendency to space out in the morning and Madoka couldn't be interrupted while she was eating. And Kyoko was still asleep. Madoka sat in the back seat beside Kyoko, opening up the redhead's coffee and holding it in front of her face. She slowly leaned into it and buried her face in the cup, taking a deep gulp of the still-quite-hot liquid.

As they moved out of the parking lot, Kyoko's senses returned. "Hey... how's HomuHomu doing?"

Madoka gave the sort of cheery smile only she could give. "She looks so adorable with her hair up in a ponytail, and she's so good at serving at the counter. We should take her home with us." She punctuated her statement by pulling a chunk of her croissant off and stuffing it in her mouth.

Donut in mouth, Hitomi switched out the disc in the CD player. She took the donut out so she could speak. "Okay, ladies. It's back home we go."

Mami quietly drank her milk in the front passenger seat. Kyoko and Madoka idly chatted in the back while they ate. Hitomi had her full attention divided between the road and the music coming from the speakers. It was nearly twenty-year old music by a then-disgraced Thrash band, one of Hitomi's favorite groups.

At the end of the chorus, Kyoko interrupted her chat with Madoka to throw herself into the song. "GIMME FUE, GIMME FAI, GIMME DABAJABAZA!"

Hitomi gracefully and seamlessly reached back and flicked the redhead in the forehead.

By the time they reached their home, Madoka was done with her breakfast. She jumped into the driver's seat the instant Hitomi was out, switching _Reload_ out for _Master of Puppets_. She waved to her friends as she pulled out of the driveway.

Kyoko downed the rest of her coffee and tossed the empty cup right in to the garbage bin outside the house. She turned to Hitomi. "We've got fifteen minutes to spare before we need to head for the bus. What do you want to do?"

Mami answered instead, holding her phone out and pointing at Kyoko. "Catch three Pokemon! First one to the goal wins!"

Hitomi watched them run off, chasing imaginary birds and bugs. She would wait for Kyoko to finish, and then they would go.

* * *

Sayaka had seen her fair share of weirdos at work. There was this one idiot who like to sit outside and protest, and she was pretty sure they were protesting her place of employment, but their signs were so odd that she couldn't be certain. Then there were the occasional rowdy kids who came in and didn't know the first thing about what they were looking at or how to conduct themselves. They tended to get kicked out by her boss. Finally, the least common brand, were the old folks who seemed to think she was everything other than Japanese. She'd have thought the blue hair was a dead giveaway.

On this particular Sunday morning, there were a pair of old men who were trying to impress her with stories of their time in Korea. She was good with war stories, but she could tell they were specifically detailing encounters with Chinese soldiers because they thought she was Chinese. Probably some way to assert dominance over her or something. There was no reason to get upset about it, though. They didn't need to be kicked out or anything, and she was enjoying the stories a bit. She'd let them go on for a while longer before letting them know her country was on their side.

She found the perfect moment to cut in when one of the men addressed her. "Oh, eh, sorry if we might have hit your grandpa in the crossfire."

She shrugged. "He was about twelve and living in Boston at the time. Now, my grandmother lived in Okinawa, which is actually where they met when he was stationed there in... '75. Now, on my mom's side... I think they were somewhere North of Sapporo. Fukagawa, if I remember correctly. You don't have to worry about them."

One of the men at least wasn't sure how to respond to that, but the other one took it all in stride. "Boston? You, eh, got some Irish in you?"

"Maybe?" She shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I'm not a hundred percent Japanese, but it might be only, like, two percent or something. You?"

"Pure Texas Ranger, little missy." He sounded proud of it, and she didn't have a problem with it. She only had to question the 'little' part.

Eventually, she rationalized that he was a few inches taller. "Listen, are you guys actually here for anything we sell, or are you just trying to get a date?"

They laughed, impressed by her wit, but simply walked away to find something they were interested in purchasing. All the same to Sayaka. She was too busy with work and school to be dating. Especially elders. She was starting to get a bad feeling about today, though. Like something extremely annoying was about to happen.

The door opened and the dreaded someone entered. Or, at least, they tried to. Her sign got stuck in the doorway, and she spent the better part of a minute trying to free it. In the end, the sign broke. Sayaka quietly set about preparing a betting pool on whether or not the next sign would make more or less sense. The girl stormed into the store, broken sign gripped firmly in her hands.

"They should make it illegal!"

Reaching under the counter, Sayaka grabbed her Super Soaker as she addressed the protester. "Hello again, Oriko. Problem with the door?"

She shouted at Sayaka, who was literally the only person in the store who ever bothered to acknowledge her presence. "It shouldn't be allowed! Don't you care about the starving kids in Africa? Who's going to feed them? Not any of you, that's for sure! You spend all your money here!"

"Aren't you rich?"

"Fuck you! You hate the poor!"

Sayaka emptied her weapon, her face impassive. The soaked protester left the building with her proverbial tail between her legs. Sayaka checked back at her pool to find people had already started betting. She put herself down for the sign making less sense.

* * *

"You and I are such a contrast, it's not even funny."

Hitomi looked down over her yellow dress. Then she looked at Kyoko's torn jeans and green hoodie. "I don't know about that. I find your clothes quite amusing. I know a lot of folks at church do too."

Kyoko frowned. "I don't really want to know what they think about my clothing situation. Here's an idea. Let's swap clothes for a week and see who doesn't react to it."

"Sure. Next week."

"No, let's swap right now."

"We're on the bus."

"And?"

"Kyoko, go... I dunno, chase a Rigglyduff or something."

Kyoko looked around at the crowded bus. Eventually, she made her way back to Hitomi. "A what now?"

The bus stopped. Hitomi and Kyoko were the only ones to get off. They made their way down the rest of the block to the old church they'd joined. It had just been Kyoko at first while Hitomi shopped around for a better one, but as it turned out Kyoko had a good eye for churches. And the only problem now in the entire congregation was her. She was still Kyoko. Loud, boisterous, eccentric, lazy Kyoko. Everyone always told her that they were praying for her. She knew what that meant. It meant they thought she was struggling with her faith, either new to it all or having recently encountered a crisis in life. She didn't have the heart to tell them to stop.

Plus, she'd always been aware that one should not pray for something they are not ready to receive. These folks were praying for Kyoko. Well, they got Kyoko.


End file.
